Modified Aseptic Front Pull Piercing Valve Assembly

ABSTRACT

A front pull piercing valve assembly attached to a flexible container, whereby; when the wall of the flexible container is pulled into contact with a piercing element in the assembly, the contents of the container are dispensed by piercing the wall of the container and liquid flows through the valve assembly and directly into a container or through flexible hose or another connection to be dispensed. The valve assembly is configured in such a manner that during use it is filed with the liquid being dispensed thereby preventing the liquid in the flexible container from being exposed to air, namely, oxygen that often causes spoilage of certain liquids, such as wine.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/958,036, filed Apr. 20, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/178,666, filed Jun. 10, 2016, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/173,576, filed Jun. 10,2015, the entireties of which are incorporated by reference herein forany and all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a fitment assembly for use with flexiblecontainers for flowable materials, such as liquids, inaseptically-packaged flexible containers.

BACKGROUND

Flexible polymeric containers are extensively used throughout the foodservice industry for storing and dispensing soft drink syrups and othersuch beverages, as well as wine, dairy products, enteral feedingsolutions, fruit juices, tea and coffee concentrates, puddings, cheesesauces, and many other flowable materials, including those that must befilled aseptically. Flexible polymeric containers typically have wallsmade of polymeric films with either a monolayer or multiple layerstructure. The particular polymers constituting the container filmlayers vary depending on the type of material to be placed in thecontainer. The film layers usually include an oxygen barrier layer toprevent contact between the aforementioned materials and oxygen or othergases. The walls of the container may be metallized, or coated with ametallic layer such as aluminum to prevent incursion of oxygen or othergases.

The flexible polymeric containers may have inlets and/or spouts forfilling and dispensing the container contents. The containers are oftenplaced within a corrugated paper box. Such packaging systems arecommonly referred to as “bag-in-box” systems wherein the spout extendsthrough an opening in the box to dispense the contents. Bag-in-boxpackaging systems are often used in restaurants, institutional foodservice centers, and convenience stores to facilitate service of liquidfood products such as syrups, toppings, condiments, beverages and dairyproducts. These containers typically have a capacity of 1 to 6 gallons.

Once the container is filled with a desired flowable material, the spoutis capped to seal the container and protect the contents fromcontamination. Depending on the type of contents, the container, spoutand cap may be sterilized using steam, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂),radiation or other suitable sterilizing methods prior to, during andafter filling. In order to maximize the shelf life of such products, itis crucial that fitment assemblies provide a hermetic seal for theentire life cycle of the container.

One convenient method of dispensing the contents of flexible containersis to open the containers by piercing the cap used to seal the containeror by piercing the container directly using a fluid transfer device.Examples of dispensing systems that use piercing are disclosed in thefollowing U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,325,496, 6,378,730 and 7,980,424. A techniquegenerally used in such dispensing systems is force the piercing elementthrough the film of the flexible container. Disadvantages of thistechnique are that when the piercing element is forced too far into thecontainer, it can pierce the opposite wall of the container and cause aleak and prevent the container from resealing and thereby resulting inspoilage of the product in the container. Also, if the wall of thecontainer is not pierced, contact with the wall can substantially weakenthe wall and later result in a break since often these flexiblecontainers are subjected to stressful handling. An additional problem isexposure of the liquid to air once the flexible container is opened andreopened. A valve assembly is required that prevents the incursion ofair into the container after opening and closing. For example, wine isparticularly susceptible to spoilage caused by oxidation and the valveassembly is required to prevent the exposure to air while the containeris in constant use.

Usually, flexible containers are intended for one-time use and arediscarded once the contents of such containers have been completelydispensed; the fitment assembly must be made of inexpensive material,easy to manufacture, quick to market and preferably recyclable. It isalso desirable that the fitment assembly for use with such packagingsystems simplifies access to the container's contents while alsominimizing the potential for contamination of the contents. It isdesirable that the fitment assembly can be adapted to standard flexiblehoses or tubes. The dispensing mechanism must be reliable such thatdispensing of the contents is achieved without wasting the liquidthrough leakage or uncontrolled opening of the connection component andthe like.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a front pull piercing valve assembly thatis attached to a flexible container, whereby; when the wall of theflexible container is pulled into contact with a piercing element in theassembly, the contents of the container are dispensed by piercing thewall of the container and liquid flows through the valve assembly anddirectly into a container such as a glass, pitcher or other container orthrough flexible hose or another connection to be dispensed. The valveassembly is configured in such a manner that during use it is filed withthe liquid being dispensed thereby preventing the liquid in the flexiblecontainer from being exposed to air, namely, oxygen in the air thatoften causes spoilage of certain liquids, such as wine.

An aseptic front pull piercing valve assembly for a thin film flexiblecontainer containing a liquid comprising:

(A) a spout assembly having a longitudinal through internal passage anda sealing flange sealed to the film of the flexible container and havingpositioned therein a circular piercing element with a through internalpassage and having a circular piercing end with at least one piercingpoint transversely positioned in the longitudinal passage in closeproximity to the film of the flexible container;

(B) a threaded plug having a top and bottom and having a longitudinalthrough internal passage and a threaded exterior being fitted into thethrough internal passage of the spout assembly and the bottom of theplug being sealed to the film of the flexible container;

(C) a threaded collar having a longitudinal internal passage andthreaded on the interior of the longitudinal passage and positioned inthe internal passage of the spout assembly and threadably engaged withthe threaded exterior of the threaded plug;

(D) a valve body having an outlet opening for dispensing liquid from theflexible container centrally positioned in the threaded collar;

(E) an interior fitment positioned in the valve body having a valveassembly that allows for flow of liquid from the flexible container whenin an open position and when closed forms a seal to prevent air fromcontacting liquid in the valve body and flexible container;

(F) a valve actuator having a valve stem for opening and closing thevalve assembly and a handle attached thereto for manual valve operation;

wherein said threaded plug being sealed to the film of the flexiblecontainer and positioned in the internal passage of the spout assemblyand wherein the circular piercing element and the threaded exterior ofthe plug being engaged with the threaded interior of the collar; and

whereby when engaging the threaded collar to move the threaded plugsealed to the film of the container thereby forcing the threaded plug tomove away from the film of the flexible container thereby bringing thepiercing end of the piercing element into engagement with the film andthereby piercing the film and allowing the liquid from the flexiblecontainer to flow out of the container and through the longitudinalinterior of the spout assembly and into the valve body and valveassembly whereby opening of the valve of the valve assembly allows fluidto flow through the outlet opening of the valve body.

The aseptic front pull piercing valve assembly is easy to use since arelatively minimal amount of force is required for piercing andestablishing fluid transfer. This assembly may be used, for example,with flexible containers that are filled or that are formed and filledusing suitable commercial packaging systems known in the art. Suchpackaging systems may include vertical form film seal filling machinessold under the trade-marks PREPAC, IMPACO and ELECSTER, and theLiqui-Box™ Filler Model 2000C1T-A that is used for filling flexiblecontainers used in bag-in-box systems. The assembly may also be usedwith flexible containers that are aseptically filled and in particularfor liquids, such as wine, that are frequently sold in bag in the boxassemblies or used in commercial enterprises that dispense, for example,many glasses of wine over an extended period. The construction of theassembly seals in the liquid in the flexible container and preventsoxidation of the liquid that occurs over time when exposed to theatmosphere.

In another embodiment of the invention, the leading tooth of thepiercing point may comprise an exterior surface that is substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis of the hollow body and an interiorsurface that is inclined inwardly and forms an angle of 10° to 45° withthe exterior surface.

Advantageously, the piercing end of the assembly may further comprise aplurality of additional teeth that are disposed around the peripheralextremity. The additional teeth facilitate piercing as they reduce theamount of force that is required for piercing the film of the flexiblecontainer and causing a circular film membrane within the pierceableportion to be peeled back in order to establish fluid transfer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side perspective view of the aseptic front pull piercingvalve assembly according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section side view of the aseptic front pullpiercing valve assembly according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the aseptic front pull piercing valveassembly in a disassemble state according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring particularly to the drawings, the figures are for the purposeof illustrating the present invention only and not for the purpose oflimiting the scope of any claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates aseptic front pull piercing valve assembly showngenerally at 1 according to the invention for use with flexiblecontainers containing flowable materials, such as liquids orsemi-solids, and particularly for aseptically-packaged flexiblecontainers. The assembly 1 comprises a spout assembly 4 havingpositioned therein a valve body 10 having an outlet or exit opening 11.Attached to the valve body 10 is a handle 16 to actuate a valve in thevalve body 10 and a cap 17 positioned over the handle. The spoutassembly 4 has a flange 5 the bottom of which is sealed to a flexiblecontainer (not shown). Sealing to the flexible container which usuallyis a bag film is accomplished by conventional methods, such as heatsealing, adhesive or the like.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of the aseptic front pullpiercing valve assembly 1. Threaded plug 3 is positioned in the spoutassembly 4. Threaded collar 2 is threaded into the center of threadedplug 3. Valve body 10 having exit opening 11 is positioned in thethreaded collar 2. Cap 17 is position on valve body 10.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the aseptic front pull piercing valveassembly 1 in a disassembled state. The spout assembly 4 having acentral opening 8 has centrally positioned therein at its annular end apiercing element 7 having a point 7A for piercing the film of theflexible bag or container (not shown). The bottom surface 6 of thesealing flange 5 is sealed to the flexible bag film or container andholds the film in place. Threaded plug 3 is positioned in the center ofthe spout assembly 4 and the annular edge 9 of threaded plug 3 is sealedto the flexible bag film. Threaded collar 2 is threaded into thethreaded plug 3 and when engaged, i.e. turned, it pulls threaded plug 3having the film attached away from the flexible bag and into contactwith the piercing element 7 and its piercing point 7A thereby puncturingthe film and allowing fluid from the bag or container to flow into thevalve body 10 positioned in the threaded collar 2 and out to a containerthrough exit opening 11 in the valve body when the valve assemblyconsisting of 12, 13, 14 and 15 is opened. An interior fitment of thevalve body 12 having a valve seat 13 is positioned in the valve body 10.Valve stem 14 is engaged with the valve seat 13 and engaged anddisengaged with the valve actuator 15 by the handle 16 attached thereto.Cap 17 covers the valve actuator.

The piercing element 7 that is positioned in the central opening 8 ofthe spout assembly 4 can be a molded part of the assembly 4 and moldedinto the central opening 8. Optionally, the piercing element 7 can be aseparate element positioned in the central opening 8 and attached to thewall at one point or more of the central opening 8 and formed of adifferent material than the spout assembly 4 depending on the type ofmaterial of the flexible container that is to be pierced.

The configuration of the spout 4 shown in FIGS. 1-3 is widely-used,commercially available and is conventionally adapted for mounting to aflexible bag, typically used “bag-in-box” containers. It is understoodthat the piercing fitment assembly of the present invention could easilybe modified to use other configurations of spouts. An alternativepiercing element used in place of the piercing element 7 shown, in FIGS.2 and 3. U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,424, which is hereby incorporated byreference, illustrates such an alternative piercing element. Forexample, the piercing element may comprise multiple piercing points suchas a total number of 3, 5, 7, 10 etc. Other designs of piercing elementscan also be used. Also, FIGS. 15 A, 15 B, 16 A and 16 B of '424illustrate a prior art method of piercing a film of a flexible containerwhereby the piercing element is movable and is forced through the filmof the container in contrast to the present invention wherein thepiercing element 7 is held in a stationary position in a spout assembly4 and the film is pulled into contact with the piercing element 7whereby the film is pierced allowing liquid to flow from the container.The advantage of the present invention is that the piercing element 7cannot pierce the opposite wall of the container or damage the wall ofthe container and stretching of the film is minimized and controlledsince only a small portion of film is held firmly in place by beingsealed to the flange of the spout 5 and to the bottom of the threadedplug 3.

Filling of flexible containers such as the ones used in bag-in-boxsystems may be performed on any suitable aseptic filler known to thoseskilled in the art, and is typically performed using commercialpackaging systems such as, for example, the Liqui-Box™ Filler Model2000C1T-A (not shown). Before filling and aseptic packaging, thecontainer or pouch is supplied to the packaging system in a state wherethe inside of the container has been pre-sterilized using Cobalt gammairradiation or any other suitable means of sterilization. The spoutassembly 4, threaded plug 3, the threaded collar 2, valve body 10 andassembly 12, 13, 14 and 15 are also sterilized using Hydrogen Peroxide(H₂O₂), steam or any other suitable means. Once the container has beenfilled with a flowable material, the spout and the threaded plug 3 arehermetically bonded to the film of a pouch or container. The remainderof the fitment assembly is added and the container is provided to thecustomer and the container is only opened when the contents of thecontainer are needed.

Since these containers are typically intended for one-time use and arediscarded once the contents of such containers have been completelydispensed, it is preferable that the fitment assembly for use in suchsystems be easy to manufacture, inexpensive, easy to install and use,and recyclable. It is also important that the components are ofsufficient quality and robustness. Accordingly, the construction of thecomponents required to produce the piercing fitment assembly of thepresent invention is relatively simple and economical. The spout 4 andpiercing element positioned therein, threaded collar 2, threaded plug 3,valve body 10 and related assembly and any fluid transfer device can allbe produced from commonly used and recyclable thermoplastic materialsand formed using conventional plastic injection molding processes. Forexample, the threaded collar and plug may preferably be made using ablend of 85% medium density linear low density polyethylene (LDPE) and15% high density polyethylene (HDPE). The fluid transfer device may beproduced using high density polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP).Alternatively, the fluid transfer device may be made using acommercially available low density polyethylene.

Thinner regions of injection molded parts typically impose challengeswith respect to suitable mold and process design for injection molding.The specific configuration of such a mold would be apparent to oneskilled in the art.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that the presentinvention comprises a front pull piercing valve assembly which is usedwith flexible containers. It will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that obvious changes can be made to the embodiments described in theforegoing description without departing from the broad inventive conceptthereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limitedto the particular embodiments disclosed, but is intended to cover allobvious modifications thereof which are within the scope and the spiritof the invention as defined by the claims.

PARTS LIST FOR FIGS. 1-3

-   -   1. Aseptic front pull valve piercing assembly    -   2. Threaded collar    -   3. Threaded plug    -   4. Spout assembly    -   5. Sealing Flange of spout    -   6. Bottom surface of flange 5    -   7. Piercing element    -   7A. Point of piercing element    -   8. Central opening of spout    -   9. Annual edge of threaded plug 3    -   10. Valve body    -   11. Exit opening in valve body    -   12. Interior fitment of valve body    -   13. Valve seat    -   14. Valve stem    -   15. Valve actuator    -   16. Handle    -   17. Cap

What is claimed:
 1. A method of assembling a front pull piercingassembly for a flexible container containing a liquid, the methodcomprising: sealing a threaded plug at its bottom to a film of theflexible container; fitting a threaded exterior of the threaded pluginto a through internal passage of a spout assembly, the spout assemblyhaving a sealing flange sealed to the film of the flexible container;positioning a threaded collar having a threaded longitudinal internalpassage in the internal passage of the spout assembly; threadablyengaging the threaded collar with the threaded exterior of the threadedplug; positioning a circular piercing element within the throughinternal passage of the spout assembly such that the circular piercingelement is engaged with the threaded interior of the collar, thecircular piercing element having a circular piercing end with at leastone piercing point transversely positioned in the longitudinal passagein close proximity to the film of the flexible container; and disposinga valve body centrally within the threaded collar, the valve body havingan outlet opening for dispensing liquid from the flexible container, aninterior fitment having a valve that allows for flow of liquid from theflexible container when in an open position and forms a seal to preventair from contacting liquid in the valve body and the flexible containerwhen in the closed position, and a valve actuator having a valve stemfor opening and closing the valve, wherein the threaded collar isconfigured to be moved such that when the threaded collar is moved, thethreaded plug moves away from the film, thereby bringing the piercingend of the piercing element into engagement with the film and piercingthe film to allow the liquid from the flexible container to flow out ofthe container and through the longitudinal interior of the spoutassembly and into the valve body, wherein when the valve is in the openposition, fluid is allowed to flow through the outlet opening of thevalve body.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing theflexible container configured to receive a liquid to be dispensed. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising introducing the liquid intothe flexible container.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the piercingelement includes 3-10 piercing points.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe flexible container is comprised within a rigid container.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the flexible container is an asepticallyfilled container for liquids sensitive to oxygen.